Uzbekistan international Otabek Shukurov will continue his career with Serbian side Radnik Surdulica. Just a few months ago, the midfielder featured in all three matches of Uzbekistan’s first-ever World Cup campaign. Now he has joined a club from the small southern Serbian town of Surdulica, where the move is already being described as one of the biggest signings in Radnik’s history. Head coach Zoran Rendulić says Shukurov is exactly the type of player his team had been missing.
A few months ago, Shukurov made history with Uzbekistan at the country’s first World Cup. He appeared in all three group-stage matches, against Colombia, Portugal and DR Congo. Uzbekistan lost all three games — 1-3, 0-5 and 1-3 — and finished bottom of the group.
Shukurov, however, arrived in Serbia with far more behind him than three World Cup appearances. The 30-year-old has won more than 90 caps for Uzbekistan, worn the captain’s armband and spent much of his club career abroad. He is one of the most experienced members of the current national team.
Before Serbia, Shukurov played in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. He won the UAE league title with Sharjah before making perhaps the most significant European move of his career in 2022, when he joined Fatih Karagümrük.
That transfer also brought him under Andrea Pirlo. Shukurov later said that the Italian coach had personally wanted him at Karagümrük and that Pirlo’s interest played an important part in his decision to move to Turkey. The Uzbek midfielder went on to become a regular during Pirlo’s season in Istanbul rather than simply a squad player.
Shukurov also made history as the first Uzbek footballer to appear in the Turkish Süper Lig. After Karagümrük, he represented Kayserispor before returning to the Gulf.
His most recent club was Baniyas. After the World Cup, Shukurov remained a free agent, meaning Radnik did not have to pay a transfer fee to bring him to Serbia.
At first glance, the move looks unusual. Shukurov arrives after a World Cup and several seasons in considerably wealthier leagues, only to join a club based in a town with a population of 9,242 according to Serbia’s 2022 census, with roughly 17,000 people living in the wider municipality.
But this Radnik side are no longer concerned solely with top-flight survival.
There is also a symbolic element to the transfer. Radnik are celebrating their centenary in 2026, having been founded in 1926. It is fitting that one of the most high-profile signings in the club’s history has arrived in their 100th anniversary year. In Surdulica, Shukurov can reasonably be described as a centenary gift — and a prestigious one at that.
After ten rounds, Radnik sit seventh in the Serbian SuperLiga with three wins, five draws, two defeats and 14 points. Sixth-placed Železničar are also on 14, leaving Radnik right on the edge of the top six.
As Mozzart Sport noted, a win away at Zemun would even have taken Radnik into third place before their meeting with Partizan.
They have also been difficult to beat at home. Red Star Belgrade were held to a 0-0 draw in Surdulica, while Partizan left with a remarkable 4-4 draw after Radnik had led 3-1 at half-time.
Serbian media call it a ‘transfer bomb’
The Serbian reaction to Shukurov’s arrival has been significantly louder than one might normally expect for the signing of a free agent.
Even before the deal was officially announced, Meridian Sport described the potential move as a “transfer bomb”, while HotSport used the same phrase. Once the signing was completed, the tone remained much the same: Mozzart Sport presented the deal as one of Radnik’s most significant reinforcements in recent years, while regional Serbian media also highlighted it as one of the biggest additions in the club’s modern history.
The excitement is understandable. Shukurov is not an unknown foreign player arriving for a trial. He is an established international who played at the World Cup only a few months ago, has captained Uzbekistan and has already built a career across several foreign leagues.
His Transfermarkt valuation provides another indication of the difference in profile between Shukurov and most of Radnik’s squad. He is currently valued at €1.5 million, making him the most valuable player at the club. Before his arrival, right-back Mateja Gašić held that position at €1.2 million. Captain Miloš Popović is valued at €650,000, while Aleksandar Pejović is listed at €300,000.
That is Transfermarkt’s estimated market value rather than a transfer fee: Radnik signed Shukurov as a free agent.
He is not the first Uzbek player to appear in Serbian football. In July 2024, striker Amirbek Saidov moved from Bunyodkor to Jedinstvo Ub and made five SuperLiga appearances in the 2024/25 season before going out on loan to clubs in Uzbekistan.
Midfielder Abubakir Muydinov also played for Trajal Kruševac in Serbia’s second tier from February 2025 until the summer of 2026.
But signing an established senior international who has just appeared at a World Cup is a different level altogether.
Historically, the flow of players has gone largely in the opposite direction. Dozens of Serbian footballers have played in Uzbekistan over the years, with some becoming key figures at their clubs.
Radnik had been looking for a midfielder since the summer
The deal does not appear to be a random opportunity created simply because a high-profile free agent became available. According to Eurasia Football, Radnik had been looking to strengthen central midfield for some time.
The club initially wanted to sign Armenia international Tigran Avanesyan. The 24-year-old can operate in defensive midfield but eventually chose Dinamo Samarkand, where he was offered improved terms.
There is an interesting Uzbek angle to that story. Avanesyan was born in Tashkent and, before ultimately committing his international career to Armenia, could theoretically have pursued the Uzbekistan route. Had his career developed differently, he might first have become a rival to Shukurov for a place in the national team and, given the age difference, later one of the candidates to succeed him in midfield.
Instead, Avanesyan moved to Uzbekistan, while Radnik, having missed out on the Armenian midfielder, signed Shukurov a few weeks later.
Rendulić: ‘Exactly the profile we needed’
Radnik head coach Zoran Rendulić has been quite clear about what he expects from the Uzbek midfielder.
The 42-year-old spent almost three years on the coaching staff at Red Star Belgrade before taking charge of Radnik just two weeks before the start of the season. It is his first senior head-coaching role at this level.
Speaking to Mozzart Sport, Rendulić highlighted Shukurov’s experience: more than 90 international appearances, spells as Uzbekistan captain and participation in all three of the country’s World Cup matches. For a club of Radnik’s size, he believes attracting a player with that résumé is itself evidence of how far the club has come.
Most importantly, the coach gave a very clear description of the role he has in mind.
“He is exactly the profile of player we needed — a box-to-box midfielder with huge experience,” Rendulić said.
That description matters.
Radnik do not see Shukurov simply as a holding midfielder whose main task is to break up opposition attacks. They expect him to cover ground between both penalty areas, help progress the ball, contribute to attacking moves and maintain the team’s balance when possession is lost.
That should suit the way Rendulić wants his side to play. Radnik are an energetic team who look to move forward quickly and work hard without the ball. The coach has admitted that in some matches his players have spent too much energy in the first half and struggled to maintain the same intensity later on.
An experienced central midfielder capable of controlling the tempo could therefore be every bit as valuable as another pure ball-winner.
There is another factor. Rendulić makes no secret of the fact that Radnik are a relatively young side. Many of the players are still trying to establish themselves at a higher level, and the coach has suggested that Pejović was previously one of the few members of the squad with substantial top-level experience.
Shukurov changes that immediately. He arrives with a World Cup on his CV, more than 90 international appearances, a league title in the UAE and experience of playing regularly under Pirlo in Turkey.
Where does Shukurov fit in?
There is no guaranteed vacancy waiting for Shukurov in central midfield.
In Radnik’s final match before the break, against Partizan, Rendulić started Miloš Popović, Aleksandar Pejović and Martin Novaković. Different combinations of those three have regularly formed the midfield unit during the opening rounds of the season.
Popović probably has the strongest position. The 22-year-old is Radnik’s captain and a natural defensive midfielder. He provides balance in front of the back line and, despite his age, is already one of the central figures in the team.
Novaković plays a more attacking role. He operates higher up the pitch and has contributed two goals and three assists this season, meaning a direct comparison with Shukurov is not particularly useful.
The Uzbek’s most obvious competition is therefore likely to come from 35-year-old Aleksandar Pejović. He can also play in central and defensive midfield and had been a regular starter before Shukurov’s arrival.
That makes a Popović-Shukurov partnership, with Novaković operating higher up, perhaps the most logical option. Popović could remain the deeper player while Shukurov takes on the box-to-box role described by Rendulić. Pejović would then become a highly experienced rotation option.
For now, however, that remains an interpretation based on the structure of the current squad. Shukurov has yet to make an official appearance for Radnik, so Rendulić’s final solution will only become clear after the break.
His debut could come away against IMT in Loznica. Three of Radnik’s next four matches will be played away from home, and Rendulić has described the upcoming run as a test of his team’s character.